Air India May Offer Cheaper Flights on International Routes

Air India is likely to offer cheap flight tickets on several overseas routes to woo more number of international flyers. The new airfares will be put into effect from September 2012, stated a report of the Financial Express, a popular business newspaper in India.

India’s national airline, Air India is likely to come out with cheap flight tickets to European and North American destinations. The routes are highly popular among leisure holidaymakers and business travellers and will definitely woo flyers into booking cheap flight ticket deals with the airline.

Earlier, many rival airlines took advantage of the industrial strike that hit Air India and increased the fares on flights to some important destinations like London, Paris, Munich and Toronto to over 25 per cent. However, the new aggressive pricing strategy of Air India is likely to comfort the pockets of Britons and other international travellers who are looking to book cheap flights on these routes.

Endorsing the new move, an Air India official said trimming down of the fares is the only option that can bring Air India back to the market that has more or less been closed for over two months.

While the move hasn’t gone down too well with industry experts who termed it as ‘unproductive’, the airline has high hopes with its new aggressive pricing strategy and anticipates that these routes will definitely help the carrier once it deploys its highly fuel-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner on them.

Reference

India, Mauritius to Promote Tourism Together

India and Mauritius, two top holiday destinations, will be working together to encourage tourism. The two countries are looking at the possibilities of facilitating investment in hospitality industry and infrastructure development.

Mauritius Tourism is looking to formulate a long term strategy for the Indian market. The island nation is likely to focus on the MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) and Wedding segments to facilitate the rise in the Indian tourist arrivals.

Govt. of Mauritius is also working on weekend packages in collaboration with Air Mauritius by September 2012. It is also speculated that Air Mauritius will increase the frequency of flights to India, connecting to Mumbai. An additional flight will be offered on Thursday to tap the weekend holiday segment.

Indian Government is of the opinion that India and Mauritius should work together to look for possibilities of promoting investment in hotel industry tourism and infrastructure development as India permits 100 per cent FDI in hotel sector.

India and Mauritius are both popular holiday destinations that attract tourists from different corners of the globe. If cheap flights to India remain popular among all and sundry, Mauritius is no less a honeymoon and adventure destination and tempts many rummage around for cheap flight deals.

News reports reveal that 18,000 tourists booked airline tickets to India from Mauritius in 2009. The figure went up to 21,000 in 2010.

India’s tourism office in Johannesburg is in charge for promoting the country as a travel destination in Mauritius.

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More India Bound Tourists Opt For Visa on Arrival

The efforts and initiatives of Indian authorities to woo foreign travellers are paying off well. India’s decision to launch Visa on Arrival (VoA) scheme has brought in encouraging numbers for the country.

VoA scheme has registered a growth of more than 12 per cent in June this year as compared to the same period in the previous year. Figures rolled out by the country’s tourism ministry state that a total of 864 foreign tourists who took flights to India in June 2012 made use of the VoA scheme as opposed to 770 during the same period in the previous year. In June this year, a total of 4.32 lakh foreign tourists made a travel to India and in June 2011, 4.12 lakh travelled to the country.

India’s decision to offer Visa on Arrival has certainly proven to be beneficial. The country has been a favourite with holiday makers for long and now with the convenience of VoA, more number of tourists are looking for deals on cheap flights to India.

Government of India launched the VoA scheme in January 2010 to attract more foreign tourists to look for airline ticket to the country. The prerogative was given to five countries in 2010 - Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore. In January 2011, the scheme was extended to six more countries - Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos and Myanmar.

Maximum number of tourists who used the facility in June came from Japan (233).

During the period January-June 2012, the maximum number of VoAs were issued at Delhi airport (3888), followed by Mumbai (1473), Chennai (954) and Kolkata (406), official figures said.

News Reference

India and UAE Join Hands for Tourism Promotion

India with its riveting culture, heritage and hospitality and beguiling tourist attractions steeped in quintessential Indian ambience is already at the forefront of tourism trade in Asia attracting a deluge of holidaymakers every year. The country is striving hard to place itself as a top holiday destination in the global tourism scene. An international collaboration is perhaps what the country has found as the means to achieve its ambitious ends.

Collaboration with UAE

The country is now planning to work in collaboration with the UAE to promote tourism. Both the countries will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU), with an endeavour to double the two-way flow of tourists between them.

Road Show

India’s tourism ministry organised a road show in the Middle East to spike the number of vacationers seeking tickets on flights to India. The road show kicked off from the Atlantis Hotel and was attended by government of India tourism officials, diplomats as well as travel operators, hotels, media participants and airlines.

Indian states like Rajasthan, Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, each of which is a top holiday destination and is replete with world class tourist trappings also participated in the show.

Encouraging Figures

Currently, as many as six million tourists plan a tour to India, annualy. The Indian government hopes to double the figure by 2015. There has been a significant rise in the number of travellers who look for cheap flights to India from the Gulf and Middle East.

Additionally, India is aiming to improve its share in the international tourist arrivals from 0.6 per cent to 1 per cent by 2016.

News Sources

Mexico Airport Guide

The Mexico City International Airport is served by more than 30 international and domestic airlines and is connected with more than 100 destinations across the world.

Address: Av. Capitan Carlos Leon s/n, Colonia Penon de los banos, C.P. 15620 Delegacion Venustiano Carranza, Mexico D.F.

Time Zone: GMT - 6, GMT - 5 (from first Sunday in May to last Sunday in September).


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Notes: Please refer to the official website for latest updates.

Bali Airport Guide

The airport is also known as Denpasar International Airport and is well served by a number of airlines operating Bali flights.

Address: Jl. Raya, Denpasar 80361, Bali, Indonesia

Time Zone: GMT + 8


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Notes: Please refer to the official website for latest updates.

Seychelles Airport Guide

The Seychelles International Airport also serves as the base of Air Seychelles which is the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles besides serving a host of other flights to and from the destination.

Address: Seychelles International Airport, PO Box 18,1 Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles

Time Zone: GMT + 4


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Notes: Please refer to the official website for latest updates.

Maldives Airport Guide

Male International Airport is located in the North Male Atoll. Maldives’ international airport is served by several international airlines as well as few charter operators, and is a hub for the national airline, Maldivian.

Address: Maldives Airports Company Ltd. Male International Airport Hulhule - 22000

Time Zone: +5:00 hours from UTC/GMT


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Notes: Please refer to the official website for latest updates.

Mauritius Airport Guide

Mauritius airport is served by numerous overseas airlines. The trendy airport plays a big role in the burgeoning Mauritius tourism segment.

Address: Plaine Magnien, Mauritius

Time Zone: GMT + 4


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Notes: Please refer to the official website for latest updates.

Colombo Airport Guide

The Colombo airport hosts more than 15 passenger and cargo airlines, and is a hub for SriLankan Airlines and Colombo’s budget airline Mihin Lanka.

Address: Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, Sri Lanka.

Tel: 94 11 2252861 Fax: 94 11 225 9435

Time Zone: +5:30 hours from UTC/GMT


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Notes: Please refer to the official website for latest updates.